Sor Juana Ines De la Cruz was a well-known nun who gained prestige challenging the misogynistic and patriarchal male dominance in her writings. Although Sor Juana was able to take advantage of her prestige and liberation as a nun there were still obstacles that she encountered challenging the systematic oppression she, along with many woman, faced in Mexico during the 17th century. As much freedom as she enjoyed to be able to indulge in books and knowledge Sor Juana was aware of her limitations and boundaries in the misogynistic society she lived in. She understood that she faced two great limitations when it came to being a writer and speaking out against oppressive behaviors. Her two limitations were being a woman and being born out of wedlock. Rather than look at the limitations that caused Sor Juana to address issues of women being educated and having equality as submissive and passive I choose to analyze her actions as rebellion and a witty adaptation to address the issues she wanted to address all while avoiding persecution during the 17th century in Mexico. Although Sor Juana found witty ways to challenge the misogynistic structure of the church and society she was unable to escape criticisms. Sor Juana was able to find ways to challenge the status quo and argue that woman should be educated because it was necessity to life itself and to be able to understand the Bible. …show more content…
This would allow her contest against the church’s beliefs that a woman should not be educated to at least be heard and taken into consideration. Sor Juana not only addressed issues of education but also of equality amongst men and woman by using religion once again. She argued that no man nor woman should be allowed to interpret or read the Bible without being educated and therefor it was important that they mutually enlighten their
Catalina de Erauso’s memoir, Lieutenant Nun: Memoir of a Basque Transvestite in the New World, depicts gender relations in the early 17th century Spain. Erauso, through her detailed narrative of personal encounters with transvestism, reveals significant implications of the roles and expectations of the gender binary during this era. Her memoir evidently portrays gender binaries in dress, emotion, and interaction within society as she describes aspects of her journey from the perspective of both a woman and man. The male gender exhibits idealized masculine qualities, such as being violent and spontaneous, and the female gender exhibits idealized feminine qualities, such as emotional suppression and tranquility. Erauso expresses the distinct
Sor Juana’s identity as a woman both shaped her life and defined her work. She was barred access to a formal education due to her gender and had limited autonomy regarding what the choices she could make for herself as a young woman. Scholars note that, “[d]ue to her aversion to marriage, Sor Juana’s only other
In the poem titled ¨You Foolish Men¨ the author Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz uses two specific key poetic devices that both further her idea and the poem in a positive way. The first device is a simple one but none the less still helps this poem a great deal, the author uses similes between the other device to create layers of examples as to how idiotic the man can be and how they sometimes make no sense what so ever. Some examples of this in text would be ¨In all your crazy shows you act just like a child who plays the bogeyman of which he’s then afraid.¨ (stanza 4). The author then uses a very clever device especially for this type of poem.
Anna’s story shows that women did have some rights, and that they also had, at least in this case, the ability to defend those rights within legal institutions. Even more important is evidence of public opinion, instead of siding against Anna as an unfit daughter causing trouble for her family Hall’s citizens actually sided with Anna against her father. In this, both daughter’s obedience to father and woman’s obedience to man were turned on their heads, revealing that regardless of religious doctrines of male authority, life among the people was much more complex.
The church has ever opposed the progress of woman on the ground that her freedom would lead to immorality. We ask the church to have more confidence in women. We ask the opponents of this movement to reverse the methods of the church, which aims to keep women moral by keeping them in fear and in ignorance, and to inculcate into them a
Never the less, Sor Juana Ines De La Cruz set the bar high during her time as far as dedication to venture outside of the realm of what was socially accepted and provide proof that women have the same ability to study, learn, and teach as men did. She wrote with such
Lastly, Sor Juana concludes with, “your arrogance is allied/ with the world, the flesh, and the devil!” (A Sor Juana Anthology 113). Ultimately, Sor Juana directly refers to men and the patriarchy as evil. This revelation coming from a nun is all the more significant as the church looks down on both evil and sin. Ultimately, her role allows her more influence and gives more significance to her writing as seen by Sor Juana’s uncovering of the patriarchy as evil and sinful.
In “Lieutenant Nun: Memoir of a Transvestite in the New World” by Catalina de Erauso, a female-born transvestite conquers the Spanish World on her journey to disguise herself as a man and inflicts violence both on and off the battlefield. Catalina discovers her hidden role in society as she compares herself to her brothers advantage in life, as they are granted money and freedom in living their own lives. Erauso decides to take action of this act of inequality by forming a rebellion, as she pledges to threaten the social order.The gender roles allotted to both men and women in the Spanish world represent the significance of societal expectations in order to identify the importance of gender in determining one’s position in the social order in the Spanish World.
“Whose behavior could be odder / than that of a stubborn man / who himself breathes on the mirror, / and then laments it is not clear?” Man’s double standards and self-inflicted exacerbation of women has been a prominent issue for centuries. Consequently, women have faced marginalization and oppression throughout the ages. In moments of bravery, exemplary figures have spoken out against this injustice. Two such characters during the Enlightenment period are Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz and Mary Wollstonecraft. Specifically, Sor Juana’s poem “Philosophical Satire” and Wollstonecraft’s piece A Vindication of the Rights of Woman. Sor Juana speaks to the injustice her gender faces through sharp words which attack the double standard and
Anachronologically deemed a feminist for her writings, Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz stood in the New World as a defiant, female Catholic. Through her work, she displays her head-strong character, illuminating the hypocrisy that was flourishing in patriarchal Mexico while simultaneously creating metaphors that clearly showed how she viewed her situation. Moreover, through extenstive allusions, she displays her aptitude, proving that she had one true love in life: the love for learning. Perhaps doomed from the start because of her sex, any time Sor Juana delved into her passion she was bound to hear insolence from a traditional member of society, namely the Bishop of Puebla,
In Spain and the Spanish colonies in South America in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries, gender roles were distinct and the opportunity gap was enormous. Catalina de Erauso compares the two roles through her memoir, “Lieutenant Nun,” where she recounts her life as a transvestite in both the new and old world. Through having experienced the structured life of a woman as well as the freedom involved in being a man, de Erauso formed an identity for herself that crossed the boundaries of both genders. Catalina de Erauso’s life demonstrates the gap in freedom and opportunity for women, as compared to men, in the areas of culture, politics and economy, and religion.
Walters has continued to conduct interviews with such well known personalities as Princess Diana of England, General Colin Powell, Hillary Rodham Clinton, wife of President William Clinton, Robert Shapiro, famous defense attorney, etc. Her ability in drawing people out, understanding the situation and to make it as clear as possible during interviews has attributed to her success. The year 1996 marks the twentieth anniversary of her relationship with the American Broadcasting. Her 20/20 television show is always in the weekly top ratings according to the polls. Walters has substituted many times for a vacationing Ted Koppel on his Nightline program and has her own special programs throughout the year.
In consequence of these bad treats, women try to find different ways that in their point of view were a way out to reveal their need and discontents with man. One way for women to express their dissatisfaction was become part to the Convent, it provided an especially opportunity to achieving self-expression and freedom from male domination and sexual exploitation for elite and middle-class women. In the convents women display their capacity for leadership in administration, management of resources, and a way to create a social life by receiving visitors. An example of these ways out to society is “Sor Juana,” according to Keen and Haynes’s book Sor Juana’s intellectual brilliance made it difficult for her to find a suitable marriage partner, in consequence she decide to become part of a Convent. This same experience was common for one or more daughters of an elite family in every day life
In colonial Latin America, one aspect of life that was constantly under attack and had to be guarded at all costs was the ideal of one's Honour. Women in colonial Latin America had to especially be on their guard to protect their honour, as an unanswered attack to their honour could ruin a family's honour. But if a woman's honour was attacked there were ways for her to protect it. The honour women possessed at the time was said to be not as important as the honour of a man, but it is, in fact, more important then the man's. By using Richard Boyer's document Catarina Maria Complains That Juan Teioa Forcibly Deflowered Her and Sonya Lipsett-Rivera's document Scandal at the Church: Jose de Alfaro Accuses Dona Theresa Bravo and Others of
This whole progression of events is evidence that Sor Juana was never a true feminist. Although she was an assertive and determined young woman earlier in life, Sor Juana learned to accept the way the world was, abandoned what feminist ideals she had had, and devoted her later life to pleasing God and being a good nun.